"We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must be done for itself, for the beauty of science, and then there is always the chance that a scientific discovery may become - like the radium - a benefit for humanity." - MARIE CURIE
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There's no way I could possibly go through a long history-of-science blog series without mentioning the great Marie Skłodowska Curie, one of the very few people in history to win not one but two Nobel Prizes for her scientific work-- if nothing else, Polish pride would demand it.
The AIP's Physics News Update this week highlights a paper on the laser cooling and trapping of radium by a group at Argonne National Laboratory.
This is a painting called The Supper at Emmaus. Its subject is the story in the 24th chapter of Luke's gospel, and the story of the painting is itself quite a tale.
Events
1936 - Radium E becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically.
Births
Scientists are often also narrow minded. Otherwise Marie Curie's quote would have been more accurate and even greater with addition of 2 4-letter words "only" and "also." ... "scientific work must not ONLY be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must ALSO be done for itself,..."